Vengeance: A StarFox Story(Disco'd for now)
by SC-SafeCracker
Summary: James' untimely death leads Fox into a tailspin of hatred for Andross. When forming the new team he meets up with a tiger named Jack, not much else is known about him. But the one thing they share is that they both are thirsting for Andross' blood. Just how far will they go to exact their vengeance? Rated M for strong later violence and swearing (read last chap for info)
1. Prologue

(Author's note) I meant to add this way before Chapter 3 was posted, but anyway. This story has a few elements that could be considered a crossover, but I assure you that wasn't my intention. Well it wasn't when I started with the first idea about 10 years ago. Namely the abilities and the weapons of the Moreinumean people, pronounced the same way its spelled more-in-u-mean. (I played with the windows voice thing for hours until I got the name that sounded unique.) Their abilities could be linked to the Jedi from Star Wars. Same with the weapons, in later chapters you'll understand that its not the way I was headed. And the other thing is that this story starts out way before the events of the original StarFox and go mostly through the events of 64 with some of the Nintendo Power comics elements are in there too. I hope you enjoy reading my story. If you notice any wrong uses of words or spelling errors, well what can i say? I'm human, but I do make the attempt to reread my story before i start working on the next part. And i will try to fix each mistake as I see them, but if i miss one. Please let me know, and thank you once more for reading my story. If you like it thus far or vice versa please let me know.

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Vengeance By: SC-SafeCracker

Prologue

"Tell me again, daddy!" a young kit cried to his father. This kit was a red fox, but not red in color; more like tan. He had green eyes, just like his father. Along with the green eyes he had a white streak going into a point just about the center of his forehead. His little tail was wagging with excitement; the white tip was just a little blur.

His dad sighed, "OK, OK, I didn't think this story would be your favorite." The older fox took a story book that he just finished reading to his son and flipped it back to the beginning. He cleared his throat and began reading the book to his little boy.

"Tales of legendary people," He announced in a deep storytelling voice he uses when reading to his son. The little kit could barely keep still.

"Tell me the story about the one people who use swords." The little kit cried. His father sighed once more.

"Well Fox, if you would give me a second, I will." Fox's dad said. Fox's dad is a red fox also with the same tan color. Fox is his father's spitting image. The only difference is that his father is older and has the eyes of an old soldier. Like he has been in life or death situations or had to make the tough call that may have ended poorly for himself or his troops who were serving under him.

He began flipping the pages through the storybook to the legend of the Moreinumean people. He cleared his throat and continued to read the book in his deep storytelling voice. "This is the tale of the long since passed Moreinumean people. The only people who could make beam-like swords." He paused to show Fox the picture. Fox wiggled with excitement; he loved it when his father read to him. "There isn't much about these long lost people. There are only stories that have been passed down the generations of a rare few people who were lucky enough to actually meet one of these elusive people. But these stories where told through several generations. There is no way to confirm or deny these stories because the original person who told the stories, have passed on. But there are several things that match up with each story we have heard; and that is their warriors have been trained in the art of swordsmanship. And they use weapons made of a type of sustained beam." He paused once again to show the picture. The picture was a crude drawing of a creature holding a pipe or handle on one side of the picture and the other its the same creature but they are not holding a handle but a glowing sword.

"But this is just some of the facts that were dug up; this next story was provided by a generous family and this story starts out like any other, a person who was going about a normal day but things go very strange very quickly." Fox's dad stopped to show the pictures again. "It was midsummer on Fichina, if there is such a thing. Out of respect for the dead, we will call him Robert. Robert was out running errands for his family. He was half way back to his home when he seen someone walking across one of the great snowfields. He kept his pace but he kept watching the stranger that was headed out into the great snowfields. As he got closer he noticed that this individual wasn't dressed for the extreme cold that was on Fichina, even for it being summer. Robert couldn't continue on knowing that this person could and almost certainly die. Robert tried to catch up with the wanderer but try as he might, he was unable to catch up with him. With each passing moment the wanderer was actually pulling away from him. Robert kept on trying to catch up with him until the creature up and vanished. According to Robert's family he was sure that there was nothing for the creature to hide behind and there was no signs in the snow saying that maybe the creature fell into an ice trench. He caught up to the tracks and they seemed to stop where Robert last seen the creature. But upon closer inspection, Robert found another track but it was so far away from where he last seen the creature it was impossible for any normal creature of Lylat to move that fast." Fox's dad continued the story; Fox's mother peered into the room. His dad didn't notice; he was getting into the story himself. When he finally looked up, he had seen that Fox had fallen asleep. That night Fox had a strange dream about meeting one of the Moreinumean people. He was older, maybe in his early twenties or maybe his thirties but looking very good for his age if he was thirty. He stood in an open field with a mountain rang in the distance, at the foot of the range there stood a dense looking forest. It looked like it was a few hundred miles away. To Fox's left, right and behind him there was nothing but open, flat grassland. He stood looking around as if he was waiting to see someone.

Fox sighed heavily aloud, "Oh come on, I know you're out there!" he called out in a deep, adult voice. He looked around some more then hung his head slightly as he placed his hands of his hips while shifting his weight with impatience. When he lifted his head he was meet with a sight that startled him almost enough to vocalize his surprise. A creature stood about three to four feet from Fox, dressed in dark clothing. The creature had a dark cloak draped over their shoulders and the hood was up. Fox couldn't tell what creature it was or even if it was a male or female. The only thing that Fox was able to get from the creature was that it was fast. Really fast, almost to the point of being almost like teleportation. The creature stood staring at the baffled fox for the longest time, almost like it was waiting for Fox to make the first move. Fox didn't know what to expect from this hooded figure or if anything has happened to him during this stand off. He knew that this creature was surely fast enough to do something to him and he wouldn't know it until it hit him.

Fox stared at him until a bead of sweat rolled into his eyes, forcing him to close them for a split second. When he opened them again, the creature was gone. There was no trace of them anywhere! Fox started breathing heavily and jerked around trying to catch a glimpse of who or whatever was standing in front of him just a moment ago. Suddenly there was an unusual gust of wind from behind him that caused Fox to tense up and freeze in fear. He slowly turned his head to see what was the source of the gust and was amazed to see that the hooded figure was back and decided to take the hood off. The creature was surprisingly slow in removing the hood, maybe it was a gesture showing that it means no harm to Fox. The creature took its left hand and pulled the hood off revealing that Fox had bin staring at a female tiger for almost ten minutes.

When he seen her face, Fox's mouth hung open. He never seen a woman with such beauty. The woman looked to be around Fox's age, she had a slender build to her face that seemed to pull Fox's eyes to study her. She watched him with great interest, almost like she was mimicking him. Fox picked up on what she was doing and thought it was more likely that she hasn't seen anyone outside her home. Fox raised his right hand slowly to show her that its empty and to make the gesture of 'hello.' She copied his action but with her left hand. Fox then had an idea. He was treating her like she was stupid or something, so why not treat her like an intelligent creature like she is.

"Hi, my name is Fox McCloud. What is your name?" Fox asked nicely. The female tiger flicked her orange and black ear at him, like she didn't understand what Fox was saying. Fox waited nicely to hear her response. She just looked at him with her big blue eyes. Then to the fox's surprise she spoke. But not in any language that Fox had ever herd before. Her voice was soft and somewhat quiet. Fox looked at her with almost the same expression that she gave him.

Fox tapped his chest and said, "Fox McCloud." Then he gestured his hands outward towards her.

She started to speak but it wasn't the voice Fox heard before, it was his mother. "Fox, honey, you need to get to your bed." She said in a soft, nurturing voice.

Fox moaned and grumbled awake, blinking in his surroundings once more to find that he fell asleep on the living room couch. His mom picked him up off the couch and walked him into his bedroom. She laid him in his bed and tucked him in. Before she left she gave him a kiss on his forehead, like she always did before she left him for the night.

Before Fox knew it he was already back asleep, but this time he wasn't dreaming about the Moreinumean people. The next ten years flew by in a blink of an eye, numerous things have changed. As they normally do, but Fox and his father's lives are not considered 'normal' any longer. Both Fox and his father suffered a terrible loss a few months after the night when Fox begged his dad to reread the story of the Moreinumean people. Fox's mother was killed. The circumstances surrounding the incident are highly classified and Fox's dad hasn't felt the need to talk about it or remember the pain it brought on. Fox was too young to remember what had happened. But it made them grow more closely as a father and son. Fox's dad felt it would be a good idea to teach his only son and only family member left how to defend himself and the secrets to being an ace fighter pilot. Almost every day Fox and his dad would train, sharpening up Fox's senses to his surroundings and his awareness to his own limitations. From time to time They would go to a gun range and Fox would train for hours learning how to hold and handle a live weapon, learning the proper way to use it wile taking cover, and learning to shoot weak handed to maximize cover. Before Fox realized it, he was well on his way through the training that he would have received at the Academy.

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{(Author Note) I have bin working on this story for a VERY long time (meaning 10+ years) I only recently discovered fanfiction . net. thank you for reading this. The cover image I don't own therefore I take absolutely No credit for, the credit goes out to Falco at sfx64 . com (slash)fanart. I only added the title and the StarFox logo to the original image. The action picks up later on, trust me. I already wrote most of the story, I just haven't wrote it together yet. Again thank you for checking this out.} a side note, the addresses in here are not meant for advertisement, one is meant only for giving credit where credit is due.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Good Fox!" Fox's dad praised when Fox shot and hit all targets while using his weak hand behind cover. "Keep this up and you'll be better then your old man." He said giving his son a playful punch to the arm.

Fox smiled and returned the punch, but his was a little harder. "Thanks dad. You know as well as I that I wouldn't be this good without you."

"Really? Well in that case I'm glad I used my contacts and pulled several strings to set up a training scenario for you to act out." Smiled the older fox. And as if on cue the owner to the gun range walked up and did a complicated handshake with Fox's dad.

"James, looking good today." The graying, greyhound said.

"Nice to see you too, Marv. This is my son, Fox. Remember his name because I'm going to make sure that he becomes the next protector of Corneria." James said while placing an arm around his son's shoulders.

Fox held out his hand respectfully, "Nice to meet you." Marv shook his hand then pulled away, arms crossed looking towards James.

"So I take it, it's time to put this whippersnapper to your test?" Marv asked. James nodded. And with that gesture, Marv held out a special weapon and took the Blaster Fox was holding. "Your going to be using this for the remainder of your time here today. Don't break it or loose it. Take the next few minutes to get a feel for it."

Fox looked up at his dad, then back to the weapon. He instinctively checked it's sights and it's slide and its clip, then he glanced over the switches and buttons on the sides. Fox then checked its trigger pull and felt that it wouldn't take much to fire this weapon. After he was finished, Fox looked back up to his father, just as there was a shrill sound. Fox knew what it was, he had bin around those sounds for several years now while training with his dad. It was Blaster fire! Fox ducked instinctively then looked over to his dad and watched him drop to his knees then fall limply over onto his back. Fox watched in shock and horror as his dad lay unmoving on the ground. He scrambled to cover and returned fire blindly. After a few blind shots, Fox took several deep breaths and waited for the shooters to run out of ammo.

Fox ducked and slowly made his way towards the edge of his cover, then when he heard the clicking of the enemy's weapon, Fox ran as fast as his panicked feet would take him. He fired off a few more shots towards where the main concentration of gunfire was coming from, once he was behind better cover. He was too panicked to realize that someone was sneaking up on him.

He realized that something was up when the gun firing almost completely stopped. He still took a few pot shots off at the attackers. But it was then when he realized one of his biggest mistakes. He felt the barrel of a blaster pressed against the back of his head. "Drop the gun!" An unknown masked creature demanded, pressing the gun harder to add meaning. Fox slowly reached down and placed his weapon down on the concrete block he was using for cover. Then he raised his hands. Panic was in full force at this point. Fox was weaponless and helpless to this masked figure that stood behind him.

_What to do?! What to do?! _Fox's mind screamed, then it hit him, he remembered all his hand to hand fighting that his dad taught him. Fox waited for the creature to grab his wrist. Then Fox just reacted to the situation, he grabbed the creature's right wrist then swung his left arm up and broke the creature's elbow then forced the creature to bend over and the fox kneed him in the face, breaking his nose and knocking him out. But instead of letting the unconscious creature fall to the ground, Fox held them as a shield and took the creature's sidearm and fired back to the others that was still around. As he fired he slowly moved towards his dad, who was still on the ground unmoving.

He felt that if he was near his dad that all this would go away. He got almost to James' side when another creature crept up on Fox. But this time they didn't jam their gun in the back of Fox's head. This time they grabbed the fox and held him in a head lock with a knife to his throat. Fox dropped his hostage and thought that this might be it, but like before he remembered something from his training with his dad. He pretended to go along with the creature then he slammed his head in the creature's face, which broke his grip on the fox. Then Fox smashed his left elbow into it's stomach, then to top it off Fox then grabbed his attacker's hand that held the knife and flipped him over Fox's back, slamming the creature hard on the ground. The creature gasped as the wind was knocked out of him, then to finish Fox did a knock out kick to the side of this guy's face. Fox then retrieved his weapon then went to his father's side.

"Dad..." Fox started. He didn't understand what was going on, and he didn't want to be left alone. He felt tears running down his cheeks. But he was interrupted with more Blaster fire. Fox dived for cover once more. "Damn! Missed one." He mumbled to himself aloud, tears still running down his face. _I'll get them for you dad!_ Fox thought to himself. Fox slowly looked around the corner, he seen nothing. Then he slowly went to the other edge and looked around to see what he could see. Again nothing.

"Where did you go?" Fox mumbled quietly to himself, he then worked up the courage to move forward. He took several deep breaths then clutched the blaster with his right hand then placed his left hand cupping the bottom, still breathing hard, he quickly sprang out from behind his cover then he held the Blaster out in front of him, his right eye down the sights, and his finger on the trigger. He was waiting for anything to jump out at him. He slowly worked his way back to where the shooting first started, clearing all the corners and behind all possible cover along the way.

Fox was almost to where the shooting started, when the final creature popped out from a shadow and shot Fox three times in the chest. Fox took a few steps back, stunned about what had just happened. His grip on the Blaster weakened and the gun clattered on the ground noisily. Fox's thoughts raced but they all came back to what was the reason behind this attack. Fox had tears streaming down his face but he couldn't make a sound. He felt consciousness slipping away and watched as things went dark. Fox slowly closed his eyes as he blacked out. Not knowing weather or not he was going to wake up again.

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{(Author Note) I did say that the action was going to pick up, but this is just the beginning. I hope you enjoyed it thus far, and please if you felt that something could be changed or added, leave me a review and let me know. Thanks again!}


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Flashes of several images ranging from normal to severely strange was all that the young fox seen, like he was caught between the dream world and the waking world with his eyes contently blinking without his control. He kept getting glimpses of a dream world that he hasn't thought about since before his mother died, it was the world of the Moreinumean people. But it wasn't like anything he had seen before. It was in random images and flashes. But Fox kept getting one single image from the cluster of random sights that was plaguing him, and that image was of a tiger with, what he thought with all the flashes, was a piece of armor that covered his entire right hand up to his elbow, but only the right. The tiger seemed to try to speak to Fox, but there was no sound. He was just mouthing words. Then Fox caught a vision of his father.

"Come on, son! Wake up!" Jame called to his son. Fox wasn't really able to see what was going on but he heard things semi-OK in this state he was in. Fox was quickly pulled back to the vision of the tiger with the armored right hand again. It looked like the tiger was trying to pull Fox to his feet but then the image flashed to that of his father. The images kept fighting over control of Fox's senses. Then something foul smelling quickly roused Fox out of this fight between the dream world and the real world.

"W...what?" Fox groaned. Then he realized that he wasn't dead. He wasn't even injured. Fox checked his chest once more to make sure he wasn't dead. "Whats going on?! I was shot three times in the chest! How am I still alive?!" Fox cried, then he caught sight of his father. "Dad!"

He got up as fact as his groggy body would allow and hugged his father with every ounce of strength that he could muster, then he looked up bitterly to the older fox. "How is it that you're still alive?! How is it that I'm alive?!" Fox shouted at his dad. James sighed and scratched the back of his head, then he pushed the fur back down.

"Well, remember when I told you that I had a special scenario for you to play out? Well that was it and I must say you did a wonderful job! I'm sorry but if I warned you about it before hand this test would have lost its sense of realism. Then the whole test and everything we worked so hard at doing would have bin for nothing. Now let me introduce the attackers. First up if the one you nearly broke his arm." James waved his arm to the red-tailed hawk that had a bandage around his beak and an ice pack on his right elbow.

" I'm Herald. I'm lucky that I have trick elbows or you might have really broken it. But I must say that even with those trick joints, that really did hurt." The hawk said with a lighthearted smile.

"That's something coming from him. I sparred with him once way before StarFox; I tried that same move and it didn't phase him." James added, then smiled to Fox. The young fox was still dazed and disoriented with what had just happened. "OK, before we move on to the next member, I'll let you know that you were never in any real danger. I had Marv take your blaster because you had lethal ammo loaded. He gave you a stun gun of his own design. He made it look as if it was a real deal weapon. I needed you to think that this was a real attack and that your life was really in danger. Take it from me, you can train all you want but training is way different then the real thing. In training, if you screw up you can start over, but in real battle or in a real life or death situation you make the same mistake, it will cost you more then a point. It'll cost you your life." James instructed.

Fox listened to it as best he could. He was still feeling the effects of the stun guns. His mind was everywhere and nowhere all at the same time. But there was one thing that kept in his mind. And that was… "You were really hit when it first started?" Fox asked slightly lest groggy.

James nodded, "Yes I was, instinctively everyone knows the difference between a fake hit and a real hit. It don't matter what type of weapon that was used. I told them to amp up the power of the first shots so it would make it look like it was a lethal hit. Normally a stun round would knock someone out for about ten to fifteen minutes, but with the added power it cut the knock out time down to five minutes. I also instructed Marv that once he seen me go down to set the surveillance cameras to follow you and the closest attacker to you." Fox jumped in before James could finish.

"But I watched you, you didn't move a mussel after you was shot. How was you able to watch me?"

James pulled out the sunglasses he was wearing at the time of the exercise, then he took off the ones he had on. Then he held them out so Fox could inspect them. "Notice anything different?"

"The ones you didn't have on just now are bigger."

James took the ones he was wearing and put them back on and motioned for Fox to put the other ones on. Fox did so obediently, then the older fox motioned for Marv to switch the camera view again. Marv nodded and flipped a switch and Fox watched as he was able to see himself standing in front of his father. He wasn't able to see anything else but the images that was in the lenses of the glasses he had on. James motioned to Marv once more, then the images faded away. "Now you understand. I never took my eye off you. And I seen every move you made and, as I said before, you did great." Fox took the glasses off and handed them to his father. "Now lets move on to the next one." James said as he pointed out to a younger looking white wolf. He was sporting a bandage on his nose and the side of his face and holding an ice pack on his stomach. He waved nicely once he realized that he was being pointed to.

"Nice hit, any harder you might have broken a rib or two. Maybe sometime in the future we should get together and have a friendly sparring match. What do ya say?"

"I'll have to think it over, right now I don't feel right." Fox said wearily. James smiled and placed his arm around Fox's shoulders. Then something popped into Fox's still somewhat scattered mind, the knife. "Dad, you said I was in no danger here, but he pulled a knife and held it to my throat, I know a fake knife and that was no fake."

"Ya, I guess your right." James admitted. "Toss me your blade." The wolf did just a he was told. He pulled his knife from its sheath and tossed it to James. James then handed it to Fox. Fox looked it over and seen that it was real alright but it was so dull that it couldn't even cut wet paper. It had a near flat edge, Fox felt a little silly now that he knew it was so dull. "They are using training gear, the very same gear they would use at the Academy to pull stunts like this. Everything has to look and feel real or the meaning behind exercise is lost." James stated, taking the knife back from Fox and tossing it back to the wolf.

"Now lastly we come to the prick who I remember telling if a shot presented itself to only shot you once. But he doesn't need an introduction, you already know him." James said as he pointed behind Fox towards Peppy. Peppy looked around him like he didn't know what was going on.

Fox's jaw dropped. "Really Peppy, you had to shoot me three times?!"

"Your crazy if you think that I'm going to let you beat on me or break something. A good soldier can read his opponents from afar. James I'm surprised that you didn't see it, but in his state one stun round wasn't going to take him down, and you yourself wanted this to look as real as it could. But I think that the point was made and I think we successfully shook up Fox." Peppy said with a laugh. Then he walked over and gave him a quick hug, "Nice to see you again, hows the chest?"

Fox punched Peppy hard in the chest, "Felling about like that."

James couldn't help but laugh at that, then he walked over to wolf and the hawk. He handed them some money and shook their hands and thanked them for their help. He walked out with Peppy and Fox but before he left the range, he did the same complicated hand shake with Marv and thanked him for letting this training exercise to be held there.

"Any time, James. I still owe you for saving my skin all those years ago. You name it, its yours."

"Take care of yourself, Marv. I got a world of hurt coming to me once Fox starts feeling better." James said with a laugh, he walked out and met up with Fox and Peppy. "Anyone hungry?"

"Sure. I always get hungry after shooting a good friend in the chest." Peppy said with a snicker then playfully pushed on Fox. The threesome left the gun range and got something quick to eat. But before they could enjoy the meal, both James and Peppy's special StarFox alert device went off, signaling that the general needed to see them at once.

"Great!" James announced sarcastically, "Always when I'm eating!" James scarfed his food and got a bag for Fox's leftovers. Then they sped back to James' house and dropped Fox off. "I'll be home after we find out what Pepper wants. Take it easy, I know your still felling the effects so don't over do it. I'll be back soon." James said as he pulled out the driveway and left for the Cornerian Military Base.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

James and Peppy sped off towards the base, and the whole time they talked about what could the general want with StarFox during this time of peace. James had a few ideas but the thought of them just made him shudder.

Peppy snorted as he laughed at his own joke. "Hell, he might just want us to clean his toilets!" Peppy continued laughing, but James wasn't feeling it. The whole idea of cleaning public bathrooms creeps him out, he ended up shuddering noticeably. Peppy then slapped him on the shoulder, "I'm sure whatever it is, its something that will pertain to, well to our special skill set."

"I don't like the idea of cleaning up after someone else. You know how most of these military types are, some of them can't aim." James said with another shudder, then he shared a laugh with Peppy.

By time they finished laughing and calmed down they reached the main gate. The guard looked at them with judgmental eyes that he was trained to use. The twosome pulled up to the gate and waited for the guard. He slowly walked over, placing his right hand on the butt of his sidearm.

In a deep voice he spoke, "Identification please." James and Peppy both flashed their StarFox badges. The guard saluted them and motioned for the gate to be opened. Shortly after Peppy parked the car, the twosome met up with the third member of the StarFox team. He was a pink pig, maybe in his late twenties.

"Hey guys! Wonder whats going on?" The pig greeted.

"Ah, Pigma long time no see. Hows things?" James returned the formal greeting with a handshake. Pigma just shrugged, a typical response when things are pretty much the same everyday. James sighed, "Ya, same here. Well lets get going, its best not to keep the general waiting any longer then we already have."

They made their way through the base to the near top where the general's office was located. They past several scrambling critters and creatures of all shapes and sizes. The main assortment was mainly located around the Research and Development department. The team paid them little mind, they were expected by the general, regardless of their status of being StarFox, it wasn't wise to make him wait any longer then whats needed.

While they walked Pigma started some small talk to make the long walk seem shorter. "I heard about the test you set up for Fox, how did he do?"

"Going by the set training regiment at the Academy, he's about half way finished give or take." James answered.

Peppy smiled. "He's beyond that, give him some credit James." Peppy threw in, then to Pigma he added. "James got Herald to help test Fox's ability to think and disarm his opponent when he has no weapon of his own."

"Herald, Herald...wait the hawk with the trick elbows? Really!? How did he fair?"

James jumped in, "He said it hurt." Then he smiled.

"Wow, now I know that's something." Pigma smiled, "Well we are almost there." And almost in unison the three sighed. They walked a few more yards before they where met with the sight of the big double doors that led into the general's office. Just outside his office there is a little waiting area and 99.9% of the time its empty but today there was a loan figure sitting in a seat closest to the doors. James usually tries to make a note of anything out of the ordinary. And this was one of those times. James took a quick look at him and seen that he was a male tiger about in his late teens or early twenties. But the one thing that really jumped out at James was the nasty looking scar going from about midway of his forehead over his right eye and going through his eye and ending about where his cheek bone would be at. But there was something about the tiger that seemed a bit off. The tiger glanced over in James' general direction, almost like he knew that James was watching him. But the tiger's expression wasn't in the 'now' it was elsewhere.

Then the tiger looked up into James' eyes then nodded. James felt a slight chill run up his spine, the tiger's look had a story in of itself. James returned the nod with a slight smile, then the StarFox team entered General Pepper's office.

"About time you showed up StarFox!" General Pepper complained. Then he turned away from the window he was looking out. The old hound dog sighed then smiled slightly, "I'm glad you're here. We have a very big problem. As you know, several years ago I banished Andross to the distant planet Venom for his dangerous experiments. But our long range scanners are showing unusual activity on the surface. From the scans we can only assume the worse. We think he is amassing an invasion force. But that's the only thing we can do at this point is just guess and make decisions based on those assumptions. I want you to go and scout this thing out, and if Andross really is gathering an invasion force then I want you to cause as much mayhem as you can. As it stands I know its a suicide mission, but I know just how much you enjoy suicide missions." The general said as he looked directly at James. James couldn't help but grin.

"Sure thing, Pepper. But there is only one gigantic issue in the way. Our star fighters can't make that trip under their own power. We'll be glad to undertake this suicide mission, but as it stands, we just can't get there and back. Unless you're prepared to let us barrow your capital ship." James explained. He threw in that last bit knowing that General Pepper wouldn't ever let them have his personal ship.

"You think your funny."

"I like to think so." James quipped. "All jokes aside, unless you can provide a way there and back for us; this mission is a bust and I'm not going to send myself or my team on a one way trip to our death."

"Well I knew you would say power is an issue, but I have a solution to part of the problem. I got the R&D boys working on extending the fuel cells currently install in your fighters. Although it will not be enough to get you back, if you use your power to get there and cause as much damage as you can. I also have the R&D boys looking into a rail-gun like launcher to launch your ships at such a high velocity you really wouldn't need to use any power getting there other then life support and the other essential functions. But from what they already explained to me, that it will take sometime to configure the electromagnets so they wont cause any unwanted interference. I had them working on a rail-gun for about two weeks even before this information came across my desk. So the main structure is almost complete its just the configuration of the electromagnets that are going to take up the remainder of the time. Now if this works, would you still be willing to go through with this?" The old hound dog explained. James looked to Peppy then to Pigma and in unison the three nodded in agreement.

"Well I guess that's that. Looks like you can count on us." James said. General Pepper smiled, he knew that deep down they were going to take this assignment. He knew James like the thrill of using a new piece of technology, more so when its still riddled with uncertainty. James explained it once to him, it had something to do with making him fight harder and makes him feel just that much more alive and alert; savoring each moment like its his last.

"Did you need anything else, General?" James asked. Pepper nodded, then motioned for Peppy and Pigma to leave the room. They nodded and turned to leave, Jame spoke up. "Wait for me in the car, Peppy. Pigma, we'll get a drink or something later." Each nodded then left the room and went their own way. "So what else did you need from me, Pepper?"

General Pepper sighed, "You know I hate it when you don't address me properly. But anyway, I'm sure you noticed the tiger in my waiting area on your way in. Right?" James nodded. Then the general pressed a button on his desk and called for the young tiger to come in. After a few moments the door opened and the same tiger with the scar down through his right eye walked in. He looked at James and nodded again but this time in a respectful way. "OK you two, take a seat. Now, I understand that you had some sort of request to ask of us, err...what was your name again son, I'm sorry my mind isn't what it used to be when it comes to new faces and all."

The tiger sat down like he was told, "It's OK, I figure its hard to keep track of random creatures that come into your office with outrageous requests." He snickered at his own situation, "The name's Jack, just Jack. I dropped my last name, and I'd like to keep it that way. I know your going to ask why, so I'm telling you; its personal reasons and I don't feel like going into them."

"OK, OK. You can keep your reasons to yourself. Your past is your past. But what's this request you wanted to ask?" James asked, trying to read this mysterious tiger youth that was sitting next to him. Jack returned the reading look he was getting from James with an icy look of his own.

"I know you're trying to get a read on me and I'm telling you that you won't get any more information on me then what I'll give you. But that's something for another time, perhaps. Back to my original thing, my people are in very serious danger and I was told a very long time ago by my elders that, well it's a very long and boring story to tell someone whom I just met. But one thing is for certain is that my people are in genuine danger. Now don't get me wrong, we have warriors of our own, but our technology is, well lacking in several departments. The only thing we do have is a very slim number of our most elite warriors who know how to make advanced melee weapons. But that's about it in the department of self defense department." Jack explained. He paused long enough to take a breath, rub the top of his scar and to give General Pepper and James time to process the information.

Pepper looked at James then back to Jack. "Oh dear me, I completely forgot to introduce you two. Jack meet James McCloud." General Pepper said after remembering his mistake.

"Charmed, I'm sure." James said as he waved slightly.

"Indeed." Jack returned, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to seem so defensive, its just that I'm getting this feeling that my home is needing me to return. I...I can't explain it, but its like I'm being called back."

James looked at Jack, not like he was trying to get into his head or trying to read his personality. James seen something in Jack that was way out of the ordinary. But James just couldn't put his finger on it. "OK, I have to ask the obvious question. Why did your elders send you for help? Why not call for help on your home world?"

Jack looked away, he was keeping a big part of the reason hidden from James and Pepper. The tiger looked up at the ceiling for a moment, he sighed after a long while. "I know I'm not giving you much information to go on and I know its a long stretch for me to ask that you just trust the information I have already given you. But there are some things about me that if I told you, well first off you'll laugh at me. Then you'll cross examine what I have bin telling you, then you'll realize that I was telling you the truth. But by that point I know my people would have met with the fate that I spent most of my life training to help prevent. Now I going to have to jump the gun and just assume your cooperation. We are a very technologically lacking people. Think campers in the woods but on a permanent stay. So please," Jack stood up then dropped to his knees and bowed down. "I'm begging you. Will you please help me because I don't feel that I can do this all on my own. You have the look of a seasoned warrior."

James sighed, he didn't like it when anyone begged and pleaded with him like that. "Fine kid, but this whole thing stinks of some sort of trap. Now if I'm walking face first into this thing and I so much as smell a trap or a set up, you will find out why I'm the go to guy of Corneria. Do I make myself clear?"

"Clearer then you'll ever know." Jack retorted, "So when can we leave for my home?"

"Pushy, but I can understand since its everything that has any meaning in your life that hangs on this. But, unfortunately, the general here already gave me and the team a job. After we'll help you." James stated, he could see where this young tiger was coming from, James would do anything to help Fox. Even if it meant his death, James would do it without a seconds hesitation. He could see the determination and the longing to return home in Jack's eyes, oddly enough Jack's scarred eye gave more insight to his mind then any expression.

"I understand, but forgive me if I don't hang around." Jack suddenly jumped to his feet, looking around the room wildly. Like he heard his name somewhere. "I-i got to go, I fear I'm terribly late in my request. I hope this felling is wrong." Jack then turned and left the room.

James got up quickly and chased after the tiger, "How will I find you if you leave?"

"Don't worry, I'll find you." Jack instructed, then he seemed to just fade away.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A few days have past since the meeting between the StarFox team and General Pepper. James received word that the ships have bin retrofitted with the extended fuel cells. But the one thing that kept running through his mind was when Jack just up and left. But the main thing that was bothering James about the meeting was that he couldn't get a reading on Jack. And to top it off when Jack jumped up, James thought he seen something hanging on Jack's belt. But he couldn't be sure, it was a simple thing that kept playing over and over. But if he was right, then Jack might have more to hide. James went up into his attic hunting for an old book that he hasn't touched in over ten years.

"Ah, there you are!" He called out in triumph. He held up the book and memories flashed back to the night Fox begged him to reread one particular story. James flipped through the book until he came to the beginning of the story he was looking for. 'The Legend of the Moreinumean people' was in big bold print across the top of the page. "Where are you?" James grunted in frustration. He was looking for one of the drawings in the book that showed what the handle to their beam or sword weapon.

"Ah ha! Found you!" James studied the drawing as best he could, the drawing is over a hundred years old and it looked to be done in a hurry. But it had enough detail to show what the weapon handle looked like. Judging by the scale of the picture and the scale to the creature's hand, the handle looked to be about 6-8 inches long, maybe more. James then compared this image and his rough estimations of the length. He flashed back and drew a mental picture of Jack right as he jumped up. Jack had on a long dark blue shirt on that had a zipper that was broken. His pants where a tan with stains in various places. Jack's hair was just below eye level. His scar started about midway on his forehead over his right eye and went through his eye down to about to where his cheek bone would be. His eye carried a red line where the wound went into it. James focused his mind towards the right hip. He was cretin that he seen something, and if he did then it would explain why he was getting such a strange vibe from the tiger. But before he could get the image into focus, a loud banging sound roused him back into reality.

"Hey! Anyone Home?!" James knew the voice, it had to be Peppy. James shook the image from his head and chalked it up to him seeing things. He then made his way down to the front door.

"Yes, yes Peppy I'm home. So what's up?"

"You didn't get the memo?" Peppy sighed. "Our ships have the new fuel cells added to them and they are going to need us to help with the testing of the electromagnets. They asked me but I said 'hell no, James would love this job.' I thought they would have at lest called ahead and told you."

"Why do you always think that I'm looking to get myself killed? But I hate it that you're right." James admitted. "Did you see the tiger that was outside of Pepper's office the other day? Did you get an odd vibe from him?"

Peppy shook his head, "I remember him but I really didn't pay any attention to him. Why? What did he want with Pepper?"

"Well, he was very defensive and gave very little information. One thing I know is that he isn't from Lylat. No creature could be if they are lacking in the technology as badly as he claims. And to receive a scar like the one he has and keep his eye. I don't think our medical technology would have bin able to save his eye. This is all just guesses made from what little information he gave and from what I was able to pick up on just from how he looked. Before he left he said something about headed back to his home world, didn't give a name. I asked him how I could find him if he left. He said 'don't worry, I'll find you.' then he seemed to just vanish, well not like, poof he's gone, no more like he turned his back and took a few steps then sprinted at an impossible speed. I'm telling you, this guy is on an entire new level of strange."

Peppy looked at him like he was drunk. "You bin drinking?"

James sighed then walked out with the hare. "So, testing the rail-gun today?" Peppy nodded. James hopped in the passenger seat, then they took off to the base.

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry for this chapter being so short, but it was either have a short chapter or a chapter that could be like 2 chapters in one. But here it is, I hope you like it.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

James and Peppy got to the base in a blink of an eye. When they got to the R&D department, the scientists and engineers where gathered around several computers, white boards and parts to the housing to the rail-gun's electromagnets. But the one thing that James and Peppy didn't see was the rail-gun itself.

"Ah. You must be Peppy." The head scientist said shaking James' hand. James sighed and pointed to Peppy.

"He is Peppy. I'm James." Peppy snickered under his breath, as James explained.

"Oh sorry, my mistake. As you might have noticed, they don't let me out much and when I can get out, I don't" The scientist admitted. "I due apologize for the mix up, I know just who you are, but I don't recall ever seeing your pictures anywhere. But I have to know, where is the third member to your team? I was under the impression that all three of you was going to be here for this."

James shrugged his shoulders, "I didn't know that there was plans to start testing today. I know about the fighters being ready but that was about it."

"I was on my way to let James know about the test but he was talking about something crazy and I guess I forgot to mention it." Peppy admitted.

The scientist looked at them then back to the other scientists, "Shall we get started?" James nodded with a slight grin. Then he noticed that the rail-gun was in parts scattered around the whole R&D department.

"Wait, how are we going to test the electromagnets if the rail-gun isn't put together?"

"The parts you see scattered about," the scientist started pointing around to the parts, "they are all linked to the near completed rail-gun. So instead of draining most of Corneria to power up almost 90% of the magnets that will not be used in this test, we can just use enough to get your ship off the ground and test its effects." The scientist explained. James nodded.

"Makes sense. So what do you need me to do? Please don't tell me you want me to fly my ship in to this crowded area."

The scientist laughed. "No, no, no we have the electromagnets dismantled for that very reason. We can place them wherever we need to set them up for the test. Now for the actual launch, we'll move your ships into position before hand. So let's get this show on the road, shall we?"

James nodded, then he followed the scientist as he led the way to where James' ship was currently docked. "We got the extended fuel cell installed with little trouble but we found a..." An engineer started before James jumped in.

"Ya I know about that. It's something that is of the utmost importance to be kept a secrete. Think of it as classified black." James said while shushing the engineer. "It's of my own design and I know everything that went into it, but since you did see it, will the electromagnets effect them in anyway, shape or form?"

"Well that's why your here today. Now if you could be so kind and get your ship powered up like you're preparing for any given assignment. Once you have that done, then I need you to lift your ship about three feet from the ground, at that point you should be off the supports we used to keep your ship off the ground. After that, I need you to pull up your diagnostics. Let me know when you got that done and we'll move onto testing the electromagnets." The engineer instructed, then he turned to his assistants and gave them orders to start setting up the electromagnets about two feet from each tip of the ships wings.

While the engineers scurried about, the old fox climbed into his ship like he had done a great number of times. He flicked several switches on the console and above his head. Once he seen that the computer was online, he started going through the pre-flight checklist he normally did.

"Turn engines power to enable." James told his computer.

"Enabled." The computer advised.

"Set deflector shields to enable and prime."

"Primed." James then watched as a slight shimmer surrounded the ship.

"Set external power to disable."

"Disabled."

"Set primary weapons to enable."

"Enabled."

"Set secondary weapons to enable and primed."

"Primed."

"Set navigation to enable."

"Enabled."

"Targeting systems to enabled."

"Enabled."

"Twin lasers to enabled."

"Enabled."

"Set altimeter to enable."

"Enabled."

"Set communications to enable."

"Enabled."

"Set nova bombs to enabled and prime."

"Primed."

"All systems go."

"Acknowledged, all systems go. All systems primed and ready." James sighed.

"OK, let's take this bad boy off the ground." He said aloud to himself. He took a hold of the control sticks and slowly raised them up and felt the ships engines hum louder as the worked to get it off the supports. James took it to the required height of three feet. Then he flicked a switch and let the ship in hoover. He sighed once more then turned the comms on and called out to the engineer. "OK, now what?"

"Just sit tight, we are still setting up the electromagnets. We'll let you know when we are about to start something so you can be ready in case something happens." The engineer advised. "We are almost ready, its just getting these test magnets to link with the rail-gun magnets is being a pain in the ass right now." James snickered, he was bored out of his mind and a fly around Corneria would something fun to do.

About two hours came and went, James was about ready to fall asleep when his comms buzzed in, "James, we are ready. You holding up okay in there?"

James yawned, "Well I could use some coffee, other than that I'm fine."

"Good to know, disable your shielding and I'll get you some coffee."

"I'm good, the sooner we get started, the sooner we get finished. Let's do this."

"Alright. Switching the electromagnets on now. You might get a strange sensation. So don't be alarmed." The engineer flipped a lever and the magnets hummed to life. The started humming lower and slowly got louder and louder. As the humming got louder the engineer called out the percentages as the magnets powered up.

James got a really strange feeling just as the engineer said. He felt like every hair on his body was standing straight up and felt like he walked through a spider's web on top of that. He was really feeling uneasy. He called out to the engineers and scientists that where manning the consoles and the other assorted equipment just out side his ship. But something was already wrong, the electromagnets where interfering with his communications. James thought for a second about how to get a hold of them. He tried to open his canopy but it would respond, probably because the deflector shields was still on. "Set deflector shields to disable." James told his computer.

"Disabled." The computer advised, then James tried the canopy once again and it still wouldn't respond.

"Dammit!" James said when that didn't work. Then he thought of something that was very risky but he had to do something to let them know that the magnets where effecting his systems. James looked around at the surroundings in front of his ship's laser ports. James then seen that there was little around him that could be hurt if he fired. He then grabbed the controls once more and pulled up his targeting and locked onto a twenty foot tall concrete block.

"Targeting failed." The computer advised. James gritted his teeth then.

"Manual targeting control to enable."

"Enabled." Then the fox targeted the concrete block once more but he pulled a little more to the left to make sure he didn't completely demolish it. After a few seconds of fast math, he fired. Everyone jumped when James fired his lasers. They started yelling all at once and some said things that didn't seem to be anything at all. The engineer who got James to start up his ship jumped up and tried to call out to James. That's when they realized why James fired, his systems started to go down. The engineers and scientists started to slowly wean power from the electromagnets and kept calling out to James on the comms. After a slow process they was able to get the number they needed before the magnets started messing with their systems.

"Why didn't you try to get out of your ship and tell us?"

"Do you think I'm _that_ crazy to just shoot when I can't get communication out? That was the first thing I tried, but I figured it was because my shields were still up. I disabled them and tried again and still nothing. I was starting to panic, a mix of the strange feeling and being out of contact."

"Well at the very lest I'm glad that you did something _that_ crazy, or else we wouldn't have known." The engineer admitted, "And it looks like the magnets don't hold their effect over your equipment. That's a good thing. Now the next thing I want you to do is when we lose communications once more, I want you to take your ship off hoover and put your shielding back up. Now we need to see how much it will take to suspend your ship."

They powered the electromagnets back up and James lost his comms once more. He then did like he was told and took his ship off hoover and re-enabled his shielding. But he didn't take hit hands off the controls. He didn't realized that he ship didn't move from the position. He let go of his controls to be sure. And his ship didn't do anything it seemed to be suspended. He then noticed that a scientist was trying to get his attention, they motioned for him to grab a hold of the controls and bring the ship higher. James did like he was asked and took his ship up another two feet then he held it there, he then glanced over the right side and seen that he was about to the top of the station they set up. They looked over to James and gave him a signal to be ready, James nodded and took firm hold of the controls waiting for anything.

The engineers started to raise the power level and that's when something happened. James and his ship started to tilt and point upwards, but James wasn't high enough off the ground to allow full 90 degree rotation. They turned the power back down slowly and let James set his ship back down.

"Well, I think we have it." The engineer told James once he was back down on the supports.

"Good news, now when will the other magnets be configured and ready for launch?" James asked as he powered his ship off.

"I already told you that they where linked together, so the numbers we tested and set these too, the rail-gun is set to as well. So its ready whenever you and your team is."

"Alright, then we'll take tonight and leave first thing in the morning." James said with a sigh. "Did you need anything else from me before I take my leave and enjoy the rest of my day?"

"Nope, I think that was everything. But one thing I wanted to ask, when you was in the magnetic field, what else did you feel?"

"It felt like every hair on my body was standing on end and like I walked through a spider's web. It's very unnerving, but it could have bin worse if you didn't warn me ahead of time. I was a little prepared for it but man was it strange feeling. Almost like when you think your being watched when you know there is nobody around." James explained, then he shuddered the feeling off. "Well since that's everything, I'll be seeing you guys tomorrow."

As he left the R&D department, he met up with Peppy and they went to inform Pepper that the rail-gun was ready for launch.

"Well that's good news. So you're wanting to go tomorrow? Fine with me. Have you told Pigma yet?"

"I just got done testing with the R&D department. I figured it would be best to let the one who has to tell the city that they will be loosing power for several hours tomorrow first. I'll call Pigma later and the three of us will go out for drinks. I'll tell him then."

"As long as your team is on the launch area tomorrow, its fine with me. And James, Peppy, you guys be careful. This is by far the most important and dangerous mission that I have ever assigned to you."

"Don't worry, we'll be back before you know it. Just be sure to have our fee ready." James said with a lighthearted smile. He felt what Pepper was trying to say, he felt it when they were given the assignment. "Peppy, you ready to leave?"

Peppy nodded, "Don't worry, general. If anyone can keep this crazy fox under control, its me. I'll bring him back."

James and Peppy then left, headed for their homes. First Peppy had to drop James off to his place and they hung out for a bit before Peppy had to head home. "See you tomorrow, James. I'll be here at 8. If I have to beat on your door again, I'll be upset." Peppy said with a laugh then he got in his car and waved to James as he pulled out.

James waved back. "I'll be out here, just you wait and see." He then turned and headed back inside and went to his a/v monitor and called Pigma's number. He needed to let him know about the mission was set for in the morning.

The number rang three times before a pink pig's image appeared on the screen. "Hello? Oh hey, James. What's up?"

"Hey Pigma, I needed to let you know that the rail-gun is ready and we'll be launching in the morning." James instructed. Pigma let out a soft sigh.

"This is it then, it don't feel like the other missions. Have you noticed it?"

"Somethings are feeling a bit off but I still think it has something to due with being exposed to powerful electromagnets for an extended length of time."

"So what's it like?"

"Well its odd, to say the lest. But it might be different for you then it was for me. For me it felt like every hair on my body was standing on end and then it felt like I walked through a spider's web. All in all it was a very unnerving feeling." James explained. A bang pulled James from the monitor, "Hey I think Fox is home. I got to go, I'll see you at the base around 8:30. Peppy is getting me at 8 so you leave whenever you feel you'll get there on time."

"Alright man, take it easy. Tell Fox I said congrats on hurting Herald." Pigma snorted then the monitor went dark. James smiled as he turned to look to see if his son was home. "Fox? You home?" No answer.

"Fox, tonight isn't a good night to play spy." James said again, then he quieted his mind and listened to his surroundings. He focused his mind, he heard something coming from upstairs. James quietly walked to the top of the stairs and seen, or so he thought a tiger in a dark blue shirt crouched over looking at something. Just as James placed his hand on the but of his blaster, the front door opened and Fox walked in, causing James to look away for a split second. When he looked back up to the tiger, it was gone. James pulled his baster out of it's holster and he trained the sights to where the tiger was at. He slowly made his way to where the tiger was at and looked around for any more signs of the intruder but there wasn't anything out of the ordinary. The thing that the tiger seemed to be looking at was a book James was looking at before Peppy came and they went to the base. Everything else looked to be where James had left it.

"That's odd." James said aloud to himself as he holstered his blaster.

"What is?" Fox asked. James looked around once more to ease his mind.

He then shook his head, clearing what he thought he seen, "Nothing, son. I just thought I seen someone standing at the top of the stairs reading a book I dug out this morning. But I only turned away for a split second so there is no possible way that I could have seen someone."

"Dad, if you didn't just get back from working at the base, I would swear you have bin drinking."

"How did you know I was at the base, you wasn't home when I left."

"You're so predictable. If you're not home, then you're at the base and vice versa."

"Oh. I need to tell you that I have a mission tomorrow morning. I'll be leaving at 8, or well that's when Peppy is coming to pick me up." James explained.

"Where are you going this time?"

"To Venom, a planet at the far end of Lylat. General Pepper thinks that Andross is massing an invasion force and he wants us to investigate, and to cause as much damage as we can if there is anything fishy going no." James explained, "But there is something about this mission that has me feeling a bit on edge. I can't place my finger on it, it could be just the fact that we will be going so far that we have to really watch our power. Or it could be the strange guy who had a strange request for Pepper and me." James sighed then lifted his head back and looked at the ceiling, "Fox I know its going to sound strange, but I think that guy I told you about, I think he is like the ones from your old storybook. Although I don't have much to back that up. If you seen him, you'll understand. But I don't know. To be honest it could be a number of several things."

"Dad, your talking crazy again, go lay down and we'll talk later." Fox said as he urged his dad towards his room.

"Maybe you're right. I am talking a little crazy." James said, then he turned and gave Fox a quick hug, that caught the young fox by surprise. "I just want you to know that no matter what happens, I'll always be here for you." James then hopped into his bed and rested his eyes for a few minutes.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The next morning came faster then James was ready for, it seemed like he just closed his eyes for a few moments and it was dawn. He stretched out and yawned, then he flicked his tail as he worked his way, still half asleep towards the bathroom to start getting ready for the day. He brushed his fur and his tail. Then he brushed his teeth, got dressed in his flight uniform.

James yawned again then went to the kitchen and grabbed something quick to eat, which turned out to be some toast and a cup of coffee. He heard a banging at the door and realized that it was just after 8. James downed the java and ate the toast as he ran for the door. He was greeted with an upset looking hare.

"Looks like I was right, you slept in." Peppy said with crossed arms. James ate his toast slowly trying to buy time to think of something to say.

"No I didn't forget. I was trying to get ready and have something to eat." James said, but Peppy knew differently.

The old hare sighed, "Whatever. Now shall we head to the base. Pigma called me ahead of time and said he'll meet us there. Now lets get going." They jumped into Peppy's car and they headed to the R&D Department. Pigma was already talking with the scientists about what to expect. He then looked over and seen Peppy and James walking into the now empty hanger.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." James said as he shook Pigma's hand, "You ready for this?" Both Pigma and Peppy nodded. James then turned to the scientist that Pigma was talking to. "Go ahead and inform the general that we are as ready as we'll ever be."

"Already told him that you where here, he said and I quote. 'I don't care what they say at this point. They are going to launch weather or not they are ready.' Then he laughed. But we are ready for you to get into your ships and start your checklist. The general will catch Peppy and Pigma up to speed with what to expect, I'm sure that you already told them what to expect as far as equipment issues once the magnets are powered up. Right, James?"

"Yup I did, but its better to remind them and me about what will happen." James agreed then he turned to his team, "Lets get ready."

The StarFox team went to their respective ships and went through their normal pre-launch checklists and their normal good luck rituals that they started when they first got into flying.

As they went through their normal routine, General Pepper's voice boomed over the loudspeakers. "ATTENTION: ALL PERSONNEL PLEASE CLEAR THE FLOOR, WE ARE ABOUT READY TO PREPARE THE RAIL-GUN LAUNCHER. I REPEAT: ALL PERSONNEL PLEASE CLEAR THE FLOOR, WE ARE ABOUT READY TO PREPARE THE RAIL-GUN LAUNCHER. GOOD LUCK AND GODSPEED STARFOX!"

"Dammit Pepper!" James grumbled, his ears where ringing. "Did you forget the volume was all the way up again?" Once the ringing subsided he motioned to where the scientists and the engineers moved too, that he was ready whenever they where. Shortly after James signaled he was ready, Peppy signaled he was ready as well. Then Pigma did so also.

The lead scientist called over the comms to the team, "Okay, we'll begin to move your ships into position momentarily." Within a span of a few minutes the team's ships where moved into position automatically. Then the rail-gun launch started to raise up from under the floor. As it raised up, the team was reminded of what to expect from the electromagnets. Since James had the most experience with the magnets, he was first. The rail-gun launcher raised up about twenty feet then stopped, then the magnets powered up and lifted James' ship up off the supports and then the supports where moved far out of the way.

Once the automated supports where clear, the floor under James opened up and then the ceiling opened up. Then the rail-gun raised the rest of the way. During this process, James was suspended over nothing but complicated looking machinery that he couldn't begin to understand how it worked.

Once the rain-gun was at full extension, which was about 80 stories high, the electromagnets slowly lowered James to the bottom. As they lowered him, the magnets rotated him 90 degrees so he was pointed up. James was impressed that they built this in such a short time.

"Preparations complete. Ready to launch. Before we do, be ready for an insane amount of G-forces. Everything you have experienced thus far is nothing to what your going to be put through now." Announced the scientist over the loudspeaker so James could hear. The magnets have already effected his comms. James gave a thumbs up, he was ready. "James is ready. General Pepper, ready to launch on your count."

General Pepper nodded, then placed his fingers on the launch button. "Launching in t-minus 10 seconds. 10."

"9" James had the sick mixture of fear and excitement growing in his stomach.

"8"

"7"

"6"

"5" Peppy started sighing, he wasn't looking forward to the coming events.

"4"

"3"

"2" James was grinning ear to ear, he was ready.

"1"

General Pepper paused for a second, "Launch!" He then pressed the button and sent James flying out the base at such a high speed that any ship of a lesser design would have disintegrated before it got a quarter of the way down the launcher.

James watched at light started to trail slightly, and he heard at lest 3 sonic booms before he reached the end of the 80 story high rail-gun launcher. His computer warned him of the excessive speed he was travailing at. James nearly blacked out several times and before he realized it he was off planet and Peppy was right behind him with Pigma just outside the planet's atmosphere.

"All ships report." James called out to the others.

"Peppy here, let's never do that again."

"Pigma, that was one hell of a rush."

After twenty minutes, the StarFox team all caught up with each other. They where on the other side of Solar and about half way to Macbeth. James and the others where making small talk to pass the time since there was nothing they could really do without jeopardizing their energy for the return trip.

"So what else happened, Peppy?" Pigma snorted, Peppy was telling one of his many stories.

"Well I took out the whole lot of them with my bare hands! Ahaha!" Peppy said. James sighed.

"Peppy, you're so full of shit it ain't funny!" James said trying his hardest to sound serious. The threesome enjoyed a good laugh before James' long range comms picked up General Pepper trying to hail them. "StarFox, come in."

"This is StarFox, go." James announced.

"Good to hear you lived through that launch. That was the first and last time it'll ever be used. It took more to power it then we though. Most of the city is still without power."

Pigma whistled in amazement. "Really? I bet it took about the whole city to power it, right?"

"That's right. You should be nearing Macbeth at this point. You should take this next few moments to mentally prepare for things to come. Good luck StarFox! General Pepper out."

"Thanks Pepper. StarFox out." James said as his comms beeped signaling connection was dropped. James sighed, he didn't like it when he was told 'good luck' when he was so far out of his comfort zone. He shook off the feeling and placed his concentration back on the mission at hand.

Another ten minutes passed after the general hailed the team, the threesome was slowing down and where just outside of Macbeth.

"Stay frosty, guys. There could be scouts at any time." James instructed.

"Roger." Peppy confirmed. Pigma grunted his acknowledgment. Before too long they reached Venomian space. "James, something's not right. They should have sent something or someone to investigate us or tried to hail us. But nothing. It's quiet." Peppy stated, James knew it but Peppy was the one to bring it up.

"Keep your eyes pealed. This could be a trap." James instructed. Peppy and Pigma acknowledged the command. But something was really wrong about this, and the old fox's sixth sense was acting up. Every seasoned veteran at one point or another has developed a sixth sense for danger. And his was screaming at him. And just as he suspected, they headed right into a trap.

"Son of a bitch!" James called out, "It's a fucking trap!" He looked around and sen that they where completely surrounded. The whole situation looked grim as every possible getaway point was covered by a powerful looking capital class ships and a good number of smaller frigate class ships. That's when the reality hit home. James wasn't sure that any of them would be going home. "Peppy, if anything happens to me and your able to escape. Tell Fox that I love him and I'll always be watching over him."

Peppy nodded, "Don't say things like that! You're a far better pilot then anything Andross can throw at us. Let's show them why they shouldn't piss with StarFox!"

"Just promise that you'll tell him everything I told you!" James snapped.

"Okay, okay. Let's do this!" Then the StarFox team split up and gave it their all.

* * *

Author's note: Sorry it took so long for this chapter. I had a really busy week and 1/2 but i hope you enjoy it and I'll begin working on chapter 7 here directly. once more, if you like or enjoy my story thus far, please review it and let me know. if you have any suggestions, please don't hesitate, let me know and I'll take it into account. Thank you for reading my story and I'll see you guys in the next chapter. :D


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Two days have pasted since James and the StarFox team left for Venom. Fox knew what to expect when his dad left for a mission, he knew that they normally wouldn't be back for a few days. Even more so since they left for such a far distance. But something was troubling the young fox when he was slept. He kept having nightmares like he was strapped to a chair and was forced to watch a monitor that was showing James being tortured and eventually killed. This same nightmare kept repeating itself every time Fox closed his eyes.

"DAD!" Fox screamed out as he rousted himself out from his nightmare. He was reaching out like he was grabbing for James. His body was covered in a cold sweat and he was trembling all over. Once Fox realized that he was in his room, he placed his hands then went to the bathroom to wipe the sweat from his face. He glanced up and looked at his reflection and sighed heavily. "Whats going on with me? Why do I keep having this dream? I have never had these bad of dreams when dad left before, so why now?" He asked his reflection. His reflection just stared back at him, unable to speak let alone answer the troubled young fox. He sighed once more then he said, "It must have something to do with him being gone longer and out farther then he normally has before." Fox splashed some water on his face then took a cup he kept in the mirror medicine cabinet and got a drink of water. Once he was finished he placed the cup on the sink then went back into his room and tried to fall back asleep. Sleep scared Fox more than anything.

As soon as morning came, Fox got ready to face yet another day that was filled with the uncertainty behind his recent dreams. He went to the gym that was near his home. As he walked there, he got lost in thought then it lead him to fall into a semi-sleep phase. Before long, Fox was about three blocks too far. He shook his head violently then turned around and headed back.

Once he made it to the gym, first thing he did was head to the nearest heavy bag. He pounded his frustrations out onto the bag. After a thirty minute beating, Fox stumbled to the nearest bench. Winded, he stared forward not really looking at anything. That's when he noticed a blue falcon beating on another heavy bag on the other side of the room. Fox wasn't really watching him, the falcon just happened to be within Fox's peripheral vision. The fox waited for a few more minutes, a little longer then what was needed to catch his breath then he picked himself up off the bench and went to another piece of equipment meant to train and help develop martial arts and hand to hand techniques. He worked at it for a little then he went to the showers. Once he was clean and dressed in cleaner clothing, he left the gym and went wondering around. Lost in his thoughts, Fox didn't realize that he had spent the entire day just beating on random equipment at the gym.

Fox headed back to his house, he walked not really looking at where he was going just where his feet would step next. He was thinking on the nightmare that plagued him ever since his father left on this mission. The fox was so deep in thought that he didn't realize that he was being followed. Out of a new habit he got after James put Fox the that test, Fox glanced back every ten or fifteen steps. He seen the same blue falcon walking about twenty feet behind him, but he couldn't tell if the falcon was following him or if they just happened to be headed in the same direction.

Fox pulled himself out of thought and waited next to a tree that was near the sidewalk. Fox stood there until the falcon approached. Once the falcon was within a few feet of Fox, Fox tensed up in case the falcon was sent there for whatever reason.

"You following me?" Fox asked as the falcon got close enough.

The falcon laughed, "And who are you supposed to be, Mr. High and Mighty?" Fox sighed, he was wrong in assuming this guy was following him.

"Sorry, I thought you was following me." Fox said, felling a little silly. He then held his hand out, "My name isn't 'Mr. High and Mighty.' It's Fox McCloud." The falcon shook his hand.

"I'm Falco Lombardi. Nice to meet you. Say you wouldn't be the son of James McCloud, would you?" Falco asked. The fox nodded. They headed towards their respective destinations, which was in the same direction. As they walked, they chatted and quickly became friends. But friends was more a loose term at this point.

After a few more minutes of walking, Fox and Falco parted ways. They shook hands once more. "Well, I'm headed this way. I'll be seeing you." Falco said. Fox nodded and gestured towards the opposite way the blue falcon was going.

"And I'm that way." Fox said. "Nice to meet you, Falco."

"Likewise." Fox turned away from Falco and headed home, his uneasiness of his nightmares was gone, for the moment. Once he was home, he jumped into the shower and changed into clean cloths. Then he tried to get a little sleep.

Fox was awoken by the sounds of dripping water from a nearby rusty pipe. The stench of old blood gave him a migraine headache. Once Fox was fully awake and aware of his surroundings, he started panicking. His eyes frantically looking around to see something, anything that he could use to help aide him in escape.

"Where am I!?" He called out to whoever was in earshot. A bloodcurdling scream answered him. He recognized the voice, it was his father! "DAD!" Fox screamed. He got no answer.

Fox struggled as hard as he could to break free of the bonds that held him in place. But he was unable to get anything free. He wasn't able to move the restraints. That's when someone stepped out from a shadowy corridor that opened up to Fox's left. Fox growled at the silhouette that was still masked in darkness. "Muhaha! I see that you're finally awake. Like the music." The dark figure said in a dark evil filled voice, then once the creature stepped into the light. Fox didn't know the menacing looking ape very well but he had seen images of him.

"Andross!" Fox snarled, bearing his teeth at the ape. Now that Fox was able to get a full view of Andross, he seen that the ape was a thousand times more hideous then the images was able to capture. Fox shuddered after he got a good look. "What have you done with my father!?" Fox demanded.

"How brave, a young vulpine showing me his fangs at me. And to answer your question." Andross snapped his fingers, Fox heard another set of heavy doors open somewhere behind him. Fox could hear something being drug into the room, he couldn't make out what it was. Fox heard whatever it was be thrown to the ground hard and the object made a weak whimpering sound. "If only you could see the handy work of my new toys." Andross said sarcastically. Then Andross pressed a button that caused Fox's chair to rotate around and to Fox's horror, he seen James laying in a growing pool of his own blood. He weakly looked up to Fox and smiled.

"Hey Fox, I'm sorry that I failed you." James gasped, he was fading. The color was draining from his face with each shallow breath he took. James started to say something else but Andross took a blaster and pointed it at the back of James' head.

"I just hate these touching family moments. Let's change that, shall I?" Andross said as he pulled the trigger. James fell limp to the floor as his face exploded outward with a red mist and a green beam following. Fox's jaw dropped and the blood drained from his face. He then erupted in a blind rage.

"GODDAMN YOU! YOU MOTHERFUCKER, I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" Fox screamed in pure fury. He felt strength that he didn't think he had surging through his body. He pulled and twisted his body until he was able to free one leg and his right hand. But even with those free he still wasn't able to do anything. Andross gave an evil grin that caused the young vulpine to shiver. Then the fat ugly ape then turned and left Fox to his dead father.

"Ta ta." Andross' voice echoed from a distant hallway.

Fox sat there staring at his father's dead body, watching the pool of blood get bigger until it reached his feet. Then he heard a loud beeping sound, that kept going and going. Fox closed his eyes, trying to block out the noise.

He opened them again to find himself looking at his bedroom ceiling. He was trembling and covered in a cold sweat once more. He sat up quickly screaming, "DAD!" He sighed and placed his head in his hands. This one was the worst hands down, by far. The beeping snapped him out of his disorientation. It was the audio/video monitor. Fox sluggishly walked his still trembling body to the A/V monitor. There where big bold red letters going across the screen, when the young vulpine read what it said, his heart stopped.

"Fox, dammit son, pick up!" General Pepper sighed impatiently.

Fox picked up but was very hesitant to say anything. As soon as the general's image popped up he cried out, "Fox! Good you're home. I need to see you ASAP! I'm sending someone to get you, they should be there in a few seconds. Get over here now, we'll talk then." General Pepper's image went dark then the young fox heard a knocking at the door. Fox's heart surely stopped at that point, he raced back to his room and grabbed the nearest shirt. Then he raced back down to the front door.

"Sir, you are to come with me." The raccoon said as soon as Fox opened he door. Fox nodded then jumped into his car and they sped off to the base. The trip was very quick since it was still dark and not many liked to travel this late. After a short trip through the mostly empty base, Fox made his way to General Pepper's office. He pushed the door out of his way and flew inside.

"We have a huge problem." Pepper started.

* * *

Author's note: Things are going to get interesting from here on out. I hope you are enjoying this.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"What the hell do you mean, 'we have a problem?" Fox demanded, "Why hasn't my dad came back yet or tried to get word out about the mission if things are going to take longer?" The fox was starting to remember his nightmares. _Are they coming true, or is this just some cruel joke? _ Fox's mind screamed trying to make since of what might be happening.

"Well, they are out of range so any statues update is out of the question. But that's not why I called you here so late at night and why it couldn't wait until morning. We received a very choppy transmission from Peppy, he said he was near Katina and that his ship has suffered critical damage. He started to say something else but a loud banging sound drowned him out then his comms died. We are not sure as to what happened to him or even if he is alive for that matter. With that being said, we are not even sure if the other are alive either. I hate to bring bad news to you, but Peppy did mention you. We don't know what he said because his comms were seriously screwed up to say the lest. That's why I called you. I have my guys looking to see if they can find him."

"How long has it bin since Peppy last contacted you? And why is it taking so long to find anything out?" Fox demanded still shaken up about his most recent nightmare and the situation at hand. Pepper sighed, then lowered his head.

"It's bin twenty minutes since we lost contact, my boys have bin working hard to find something anything out. I even woke the commanding officer at the Katina base to see if they could aide us in our search." Pepper explained, he paused for a second to look at his computer screen to see if there was any changes. "Even with the added help, there really isn't much we can do but hope and pray that we find something out of place on the scanners and cross our fingers and hope that Peppy is still alive when we do find him." Just then the general's comms buzzed in.

"General! We found him! Judging from his trajectory, he will crash into the city. Holographices are trying to determine exactly where but he is still too far off to be accurate." The soldier informed.

"About time. Good work! Keep me updated as he gets closer. Let me know if it seems like he is flying and not drifting. That would be a big clue to say that he isn't dead." General Pepper instructed. "Also, get the rescue team assembled and ready to move at a moments notice."

"Yes, sir!" Then the comms buzzed again and the soldier was gone. Fox started pacing around, his mind was full. He was scared to hear what Peppy had to tell him. But deep down Fox felt what was going on, like something was telling him. He just didn't want to hear it or believe it.

Before Fox realized it, he was nearly asleep in one of the chairs in the general's waiting area. He blinked rapidly trying to stay awake but he was loosing the fight with sleep. He was until he Pepper flung the doors open, hitting Fox's right arm hard. Jumping in both surprise and pain, Fox shouted "What the Hell, Pepper?!"

"Peppy is nearing Corneria, holographices have determined that he will be crashing somewhere in the city. At this point we are unsure if Peppy knows this." Pepper said. "I need you to stay here, I'm going with the rescue team. I'll contact you if I need you for anything." Fox stood there with a blank expression and holding his right arm. Fox looked to the nearest clock and seen that it was about 2:26 in the morning. He stretched out and sat back into his chair, and he tried to make since of things. After a few minutes he went into the general's office, it was far more comfortable then the waiting area. The vulpine paced back and forth. Seconds swiftly turned to minutes, then just as quickly they turned to hours. Just was Fox was about to sprawl out on the general's soft carpeted floor, the comms buzzed throughout the entire base. "Fox, General Pepper said they see Peppy's ship faintly. He is entering the atmosphere. And his trajectory has changed. Peppy is trying to aim for the park."

Shortly after Fox was informed about Peppy, the base's sirens went off signaling that an object was on a collision course for the city. It was quickly silenced since they already knew what the object was. Fox peeked out the window and seen the brilliant light of Peppy's ship as it streaked through the atmosphere. Then he watched as Peppy jerked his fighter to the direction of the large park near the center of the city.

Peppy gritted his teeth as he yanked on his unresponsive controls, "Come on you bitch! To the lake dammit!" His target was nearing and his controls where failing. But he was sure enough that he was going to hit the water. _Better the lake then the pavement,_ he thought with a light chuckle. His warning sirens where blaring and his ship was so badly damaged that his extended fuel cell was cracked. With the cracked fuel cell, it started to leak but it wasn't noticeable until he tried to contact General Pepper to tell him about what happened. The leak and the damage to the rest of the ship caused a small explosion which completely destroyed his comms and crippled just about every sensor he had installed. Along with that, the damage didn't stop there, it spread to the controls and his weapons where completely useless. At this point he would have bin better off flying a duck taped cardboard boat then his ship at this sorry state its in.

After a few long seconds of fighting with the failing controls, he had his ship aimed just the right spot so he would hit the lake instead of the surface. Just when he was ready for the impact with the lake, another explosion erupted from the underbelly near where his Nova bombs would have bin stored. If he had a Nova left, that would have bin it for him. "Holy shit I'm glad I used that last Nova before I skedaddled out of there!" Peppy said with a huge sigh of relief, but his relief was cut short once he seen that the explosion knocked him in line with the ground.

"SHIT!" He screamed as he pulled on the controls.

The ship slowly responded to Peppy's despite attempt at gaining control. "It's going to be photo finish." Peppy grunted, expecting to slam into the ground but hoping he would land into the water.

The ship was now a flying smoldering mess, but it was at just the right angle that if Peppy did hit the ground, he wouldn't explode on contact. But he still tried his damnedest to ensure that he was going to make it into the water. But he was too close to the ground and going too fast to do do much to fix it.

Peppy slammed into the lake's shore, ripping off his left wing entirely and causing the right wing to fold up and such an odd way that it didn't resemble a wing anymore. The force of the ship hitting the ground caused him to bounce slightly. It rocketed the ship up and since the left wing was gone and the right was all _but_ gone, Peppy started to roll over to the right and the ship twisted as well. He slammed into the water which tore the right wing mostly off. The force of hitting the water caused Peppy's restraints to fail and he was thrown about inside the cockpit. His face slammed hard against the console, rendering him unconscious. But as Peppy's consciousness faded, he could hear sirens.

Peppy awoke after a wile, he wasn't sure how much time passed. He blinked his surroundings into focus and realized that he was in the hospital but the first thing he noticed was that he was only able to see out of one eye and his head felt like there was jackhammers going to town in his head and on the right side of his face. Groggily, he sat up, shortly after he wished he hadn't. "God, feels like I drank half the booze in the city." He muttered aloud to himself.

"Then crashed your ship into the park, don't forget that." A voice said, Peppy flinched slightly not expecting someone to be there. He glanced to see General Pepper and Fox standing in the doorway. "So I take it you feel like your hung over?" Pepper said, avoiding the obvious question. He nodded slightly.

"If that isn't the understatement of all time, then I don't know what is." Peppy replied, "So I'm guessing your wanting to know what happened, right?" Fox lowered his head slightly. "I take that as a yes. Well we ended up walking into a trap. If it wasn't for James, I wouldn't be here right now."

"Andross knew we where coming. He mentioned that in his little back and forth with James. We didn't know anything well that was until Pigma busted out in laughter. After James and I was on our last leg, so to speak, he openly admitted to divulging everything to Andross. Our plan of attack, somethings that even I didn't know about, and the weaknesses of mine and James' ships!" Peppy paused to take a breather. He held his head for a moment before continuing again. "We where so outnumbered it, James didn't like it. And that's something, you know as well as I that James like a good challenge but this was a slaughter. We stood next to no chance to this. We fought as hard as we could, the last thing James said to me before the fight was to tell you, Fox, he said that he loves you and that he will always be watching over you." Peppy paused once more to let the information soak in. Fox had a blank expression on his face, he was unsure if this was all just one big joke at his expense or if he was having another nightmare.

"So what happened to my father?" Fox said finally, breaking the silence that enveloped the room. "What happened?!" He demanded once it clicked that this wasn't a joke.

"Okay, don't yell. I'm getting to that. We'll we took out as many as we could. I was able to shoot down Pigma after the main part of the battle subsided but he survived, the crash at least. He punched out just before he crashed, but James activated a secrete system he had up his sleeve for a very long time. The computer said something about a Seeker system was activated. And it had a fair amount of the ships left, targeted and Andross' base was targeted and locked in. I have no clue what that meant but it sounded like his last resort weapon. He explained it saying that it was an active targeting system or something like that. And before you say it, he already explained that he wasn't using Nova bombs. He was using the miniature tactical nukes you ordered him to dispose of years ago. I thought he took them and disposed of them accordingly but I guess he didn't. He also explained that they where retrofitted with the same active targeting as the Seeker system, a fail safe in case he was killed in action after he launched them. Andross challenged James, saying that if he faced him one on one that he would let me go, of course I refused but James told me to leave. I knew that I wasn't able to help much more, I was planning on punching it with James right after he launched but he used himself to spare me. He left his comms on, by mistake I would assume. So I heard the entire fight and it wasn't pretty. He was being thrashed about by some giant mechanical monstrosity." Peppy started tearing up, he was remembering the sounds of his dearest friend fighting to save others knowing that he was going to die in the process. "I told him to launch the missiles just before I was out of range. I wasn't able to get a response but I was answered by the detonation of several nuclear ordnance. I think that was the start of my ship's major problems was when I was hit with the shock wave." Peppy chocked up before he could finish his story but he got out the important things. Fox fell to his knees in tears, shacking his head.

"No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" He screamed in agony. "I...he wouldn't...No!" General Pepper placed his hand on the grieving fox's shoulder, but Fox jerked away violently quickly jumping to his feet. Backing up until he hit the wall.

"Fox, your dad died to save us all. He died a hero." General Pepper said trying to calm Fox down. But it wasn't working.

"No! He wouldn't leave me alone!" Tears running down his face he pulled himself away from the wall, then sprinted out of the hospital wing where Peppy was at. He ran as fast as he could until he was out of the hospital and away from anyone and everyone. Once he gathered his wits, he found himself in a wooded area. He wasn't sure where exactly but he was alone. He went to the nearest tree and leaned hard against it then slid down onto the ground and continued to cry. After a good half an hour, he looked up to the tree that provided the moral support for the time, then the vision of Andross started to take shape in the bark.

"Ahahaha!" Andross snorted. "I killed your wimp of a father and your next, little cry baby! I just hope your able to put up more of a fight then that bitch you called a father!"

Fox screamed in pure hatred and hit the tree with all of his might. "YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD! JUST YOU WAIT YOU FAT FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT, I'LL KILL YOU SO FUCKING SLOW THAT YOU'LL BEG ME TO END IT QUICKLY! I'LL CUT YOUR FAT UGLY FUCKING HEAD OFF!" He continued to punch the tree with every ounce of his strength. He ended up busting off the bark and exposing the clean wood, but it didn't stay clean, it soon got a red tint to it as Fox's knuckles started bleeding. Pain shot through his hands, but the enraged vulpine didn't care. He was staring at his worst enemy and was trying to kill it. "GAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" He continued to scream.

"Is that the best you have to offer?" Andross taunted. "If that is, then I have nothing to worry about." Fox's eyes where turning red with the pure malice and rage. The pain subsided when the tree finally started to crack. After pummeling the tree for an hour, the tree finally gave away and fell over. But Fox wasn't done. He was still enraged but once the tree gave away, the pain in his hands hit hard. He dropped to a knee, still upset about Andross and his father leaving him alone. He ripped off a piece of his shirt and wrapped it around his hands to stop the bleeding. He went to his house, it wasn't home any longer. As the very old saying went, 'home is where the heart is' but his heart died by the hands of Andross. Once he got back, he went where his father used to hide the liquor and pored a glass to drown the memories and to dull the pain in his hands.

Weeks went by and no one really seen much of Fox. Peppy stopped over to check on him, but Fox never answered the door. Luckily Peppy knew where James hid the spare key, he went in and seen the house was completely untouched, save for the kitchen and Fox's room. They where trashed beyond belief. Bottles everywhere, general trash thrown about, there was a steak knife stuck in the wall, with several fist sized holes around it.

"Must have seen him again." Peppy said aloud to himself. He knew about the tree incident, he was able to catch Fox shortly after and questioned him about it. Fox didn't really answer but just kinda nod and grunt. Peppy followed Fox once to see what he was doing and where he would go. He found that Fox had bin raiding the nearest liquor store from time to time and when he wasn't going there he would go the local gym and beat the sand out of the heavy bags. So far he has ruined 6 different bags. During the time at the gym, Fox would put on a face, acting as if things are okay.

Fox played the part so well that he even made friends with Falco. But the rage was so radiant that it caused them not to hang out that much except at the gym. But that sat fine with Fox's new lifestyle. A few more weeks passed before Fox realized what he has bin doing isn't working any more. As the memories came back, he was desperate for them to go away again. He started wondering around for a bar with loud music and hard booze to drown the pain and memories. But even after as much time has past every place Fox went too was either closed for respect of James' death or they wouldn't allow any noise above a standard talking tone. Fox attempted to be at one of those bars and seen five people thrown out for getting too loud. He promptly left after that.

Fox wondered aimlessly down the dark streets of the underside of Corneria. He was looking for a bar to drown his anger towards his father, and his sorrow for being alone. "Why!?" Fox cried out, slamming his fist against a steel dumpster. He slumped down to a knee almost in tears. "Why did you leave me?" The vulpine said between silent sobs. He quickly composed himself when he heard the sounds of several distant footfalls advancing in his direction. It didn't take long for the creatures to get to where Fox was at. They looked at him then snickered to each other.

"Get out of here, bum!" The eldest looking male otter sneered, then his two female companions giggled. Then the fourth follower of this little group, and quite possible the dumbest, poked Fox in his chest.

"Ya! Trash like you is why this city is starting to rot!" The younger looking black bear said. Fox widened his feet as the bear poked him. The two females giggled at Fox's situation, then added their own jeering expressions to the mix.

"Touch me again and I'll rip your arm off." Fox said softly. The group that radiated stupidity, just laughed at his threat.

"Really? You think I'm scared of gutter trash like you?" Then he proceeded to poke Fox again, but the vulpine grabbed his hand and twisted sharply. Fox heard a satisfying crunching sound as three of the bones in his hand and wrist snapped. Then Fox yanked the broken wrist up, snapping another bone, he placed the back of the bear's hand on plushly with his forearm. The bear was screaming and cussing up a storm all the while. "You fucking broke my fucking hand!"

"I'm not done yet." Fox declared darkly. He let go for a brief moment. The bear grabbed his wrist and began to cry. Fox then swung his left leg up as hard as he could, kicking the bear in the face. Using the momentum he did a back-flip and used his right leg to break the bear's forearm. As Fox landed he back-flipped away from the group then adjusted his collar and left them to their thoughts. The last thing Fox heard them say was, "Who the fuck was that and where the fuck did he learn to do that shit?!"

Ten minuted passed since the stupid group bothered Fox. He knew it wasn't a smart idea to go into this particular establishment but he didn't care. _ Let them try something, _he thought. This place was more a night club then a bar. And it has a bad reputation for a hang out for criminals and thugs alike. But that wasn't Fox's main thought, it was a place that still serve and still had loud music playing. Those two things are what Fox was looking for.

The place was brightly light with a mix of light red and flashing strobe lights. The song that was blaring was in another language that Fox didn't recognize but the beat was a little uplifting.

* * *

Author's note: the song that's playing in the bar . The song is Bad Apple! from the Touhou Project and part of the lyrics are listed here

* * *

_"Nagareteku toki no naka de demo kedarusa ga hora guruguru mawatte  
Watashi kara hanareru kokoro mo mienai wa sou shiranai" _was some of the song that was playing.

Fox had no idea what was playing or what it meant but he liked the beat with it. He weaved his way through the crowd of dancing creatures and found an empty seat at the bar. Fox motioned for the bartender and ordered a hard drink. A few seconds later, Fox had his drink and was about ready for a fill up. The music wasn't as loud at the bar, but it was still loud enough to keep his mind quiet. Fox picked up his glass and slashed the brown liquor around. He gulped it down then motioned for another. He got his drink and downed it once more, slowly feeling the memories slide away and the pain slipping to a dull nuisance.

As Fox drank himself back into his slump, a seemingly drunk tiger in a black duster coat with black cargo jeans and black kind of worn combat boots on sat in the recently vacated seat next to Fox. He tried to make small talk but Fox wasn't really in the talking mood.

"Say buddy, how's the drinks tonight?" The tiger asked with a slight slur in his speech. Fox shrugged his shoulders. "Ya, I figured that. The way your pounding them down, they must not be doing their job." Then to the bartender, "Barkeep, get me a double of what my friend's having. And one more for him." The bartender nodded and slid down the drinks. "Cheers." They drank in silence for a few minutes after that. But once more the tiger sparked up a conversation with the now intoxicated vulpine. "Say buddy, you look an awful lot like the gent who died recently. Say what was his name again? James McCloud, I think it was." Fox slammed his glass down on the bar, nearly shattering the cup. The others around him jumped slightly, but quickly returned to their own business.

"What did you say about James McCloud?!" Fox demanded as he slowly turned to face the tiger. The tiger finished his drink then faced Fox. That's when Fox noticed a nasty looking scar going down through the center of the tiger's right eye. The tiger's dark brown hair blocked most of the view to his forehead. Fox's eyes flashed with rage, mostly drunk rage. The tiger stood up and looked at Fox, he could see the blind anger in his eyes and he knew what it meant.

"I didn't say anything bad about him, I just said you look a lot like him. Maybe even closer to that son he had, but he looked cleaner and more tamed looking fur. You look a little feral to be his son." Being drunk, Fox mistook that as an insult and got even angrier.

"Alright! Let's go! Right now, you and me!" Fox said as he took a fighting stance that couldn't defend him from a wet paper bag. The bartender seen what was about to go down.

"Take it outside!" He said as he pointed to the door. Fox went to the door constantly looking behind him to make sure the tiger was following him. Once they where outside the bar, fox tried to continue with the fight. The tiger looked at him.

"You don't want to be doing that, you're no match for me sober let alone as drunk as you are now. If your still willing to do this, then so be it." He warned taking his own stance, his lifted his right arm up over his head slightly in a curved angle, with his finger locked and pointed out. His left arm angled the same way but it was pointed down and level almost to his waist. His stance was a little wider then his shoulders and he bent his knees slightly and pointed his left foot towards Fox and left his right pointed normally to keep from loosing his balance. "This is your last warning, after this I will beat the hell out of you and you'll never know what hit you." He advised once he was finished taking his stance.

Fox started to make his way towards the tiger but was stopped by a blue falcon and an older hare. "Let me go! I have to beat this fucking tiger for what he said!" He hollered as he was pulled away.

* * *

Author's note: I'm currently working on Chapter 9 right now, I have lost the drive (so to speak) and i'm doing my best to get the juices flowing again (once more so to speak). Things aren't ok so if your willing to wait, i'll do my best to make it up. and as always if you have any ideas or suggestions or noticed any spelling errors or wrong word usages, please let me know. Thanks for taking the time to read this xD

SC-SafeCracker 10/04/2013


	10. Disco'd for now

Discontinuing my story for now.

I thank everyone who has checked out my story but I'm stopping my story for now. I hit a wall and the unpublished chapter that i wrote a few week ago now feels a little rushed. I plan on finishing my story its just that now I'm going to have to stop it until i get my creativity flowing again (can take a very long time). but thank you for reading my story.

When i get new inspiration, i will update my story and post new chapters. but until then, thank you so very much for reading my version of StarFox. and I'm sorry that i wasn't able to get into the heavy bloody action that i rated my story for. But this story has bin a part of my life for many many years and i AM going to finish it.

If you have any suggestion or some ideas please leave a review letting me know. and if i feel it could be used without having to change anything too much, i might use it.

So if you like my story and you want more, please be patient or toss an idea at me and it might cause an avalanche of ideas and inspiration to just come flowing.

This is SC-SafeCracker signing out, for now.

10/12/13


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